


When Everybody Loves You (You can Never be Lonely)

by Strump



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, luke is oblivious, perfect harmony
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:13:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28121448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strump/pseuds/Strump
Summary: Luke Patterson, up and coming rockstar, has a successful band at only 26 years old. They've now done a tour, and they're getting ready to get into a professional studio to record their first album. Things are looking up, but Luke can't help but feel like he's been missing something. His apartment is lonely, and Luke feels like he needs something (or someone) to brighten it up.Enter Julie Molina, 24 years old, recent college graduate, scraping by on the skin of her teeth and living paycheck to paycheck from her shitty job at a shitty bar. When they meet, Luke feels an instant connection. Does Julie feel the same?Title is based on the song Mr. Jones by the Counting Crows
Relationships: Alex/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Julie Molina/Luke Patterson, Nick/Carrie Wilson
Comments: 14
Kudos: 87





	1. Chapter 1

Luke couldn’t lie. He was tired. And not just from the exhilaration of coming back from their first ever North American tour, ( _his band had done a whole North American tour! What?!_ ) with an actual, full-length album on the way, (since they still only had their four song LP from months ago in Bobby’s studio/garage). Luke winced at the thought of it, trying to shove the thought from his head as he unlocked the door of his apartment.

It was empty. His apartment was always empty. He didn’t have anyone to go back to like Alex and Reggie. Alex had Willie, had had Willie since they were freshman in high school, and Reggie lived in a house with his dad, a stoic man that paid him little mind. And Luke couldn’t lie, he was starting to get tired of coming home to an empty apartment.

He longed to share his bed with someone. Love songs bounced around in his head and always had him scoffing. He couldn’t tell the guys, he had a reputation to uphold, and Luke didn’t _do_ love songs. They all knew that. Luke didn’t even do committed girlfriends. There was always a reason to bail when things got intense. That he didn’t want to lose sight of the band, that he was walking a different path than whatever girl he’d been seeing, but the truth of it was that Luke hadn’t found someone who’d captured his interest yet.

He was sure that something was about to change in his life, the way the crowds had screamed his name. Someone had recognized him on the street when the uber had dropped him off in front of his dingy building, and he signed four autographs before he trudged up the stairs and dropped into his couch. That would take some getting used to.

Sighing, the boy kicked himself to his feet, taking his shoes off with his toes on the way, and started up the coffee pot. He felt tired but awake. Two seconds away from dropping and wired with energy all at once. As he waited for his coffee to percolate, he moved to the stereo. It was the most expensive item in the apartment, other than his guitar, and one of his prized possession. He turned it on, turning it up to what he thought was a modest volume.

Not even a minute after he’d poured his coffee, and was stirring sugar and creamer in, there came a knock at his door. He glanced at the clock, surprised. Not many people would be awake still, it was nearing 3am.

He made his way to the door and swung it open, leaning against the door frame as he looked up from his coffee. He was glad he was, because the woman standing in front of his door was breathtaking. Luke was sure he would’ve fallen over were he not leaning against the frame.

“Uh…hi.” He breathed out shakily. The woman’s eyes landed on his coffee cup and a scowl lifted on her face. Luke flinched a bit.

“Look. I don’t know if you’re like, some sort of insane morning person,” the woman started, and Luke couldn’t deny that his knees started shaking a bit. Whose voice could just be that beautiful? She dropped an affronted look to his coffee, like she was offended he could be drinking coffee this early (or late, depending how you look at it). “But I just got off the worst fucking night shift and I can’t stand listening to your music through the wall.” He noticed that she worked to make her voice less angry, even as a frown pulled wrinkles in the skin between her eyes.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Luke asked, the words out of his mouth before he can even catch them. “I have coffee.” He chuckled, lifting his own coffee mug to his mouth.

“You’re a stranger.” The woman deadpanned, quirking an eyebrow at him. He smiled, switching his coffee to his other hand, and sticking it out.

“My name is Luke.” He introduced. The woman hesitantly took his hand, shaking it.

“Julie.” She answered cautiously.

“There. Now we’re not strangers.” Luke didn’t know why he was so desperate for her companionship. Maybe it was just the idea of not being alone after the amazing thing he’d just gotten home from. Maybe it was because she was so beautiful, and it was surprisingly hard to find any alone time on a tiny tour bus. Needless to say, he may have been a bit frustrated.

“Sure, Luke. I’ll have some of your coffee and you can tell me why you feel the need to own that monstrosity in an apartment as small as this.” Julie finally offered him a smile and Luke felt his heart flutter as she stepped inside.

“Music is my life.” Luke answered immediately, stepping around Julie to tug down another coffee mug from one of his cabinets. She took it gratefully, pouring herself a cup of coffee. “Creamer’s in the fridge. Sugar is right there.” He gestured. Julie took her coffee with lots of creamer, but no sugar. Luke offered her the spoon that was already in his coffee cup and she took it without much fanfare.

“Hey…I’ve seen you around somewhere.” Julie was staring at him, leaning her hip against his kitchen counter, and it almost took his breath away at how much she lit the place up. Her curly hair was wild, but it fell softly over her shoulders. Luke swallowed dryly. “Oh shit! You’re Luke Patterson!” She perked, grinning.

“Uh, yeah.” He cleared his throat. “I’m in the Phantoms. Tell your friends.” He tacked on at the end with a wink. Julie threw her head back, laughing, and Luke couldn’t help but grin.

“You guys are a real game changer. Up and comers, even after all that drama with Bobby.” Julie sighed, shaking her head. Luke’s lip curled at the mention of their previous fourth bandmate, who had sold three of Luke’s songs without permission before Reggie had caught him. “Sorry.” Julie apologized softly, frowning at Luke’s wince. He only shook his head.

“We just got back from our first tour.” He explained, trying to keep the grin from taking over his whole face.

“That’s awesome, Luke!” Julie chirped, perking up. “Is that why you’re so wired at 3am?” She asked, taking a sip of her coffee. “Wow, this is really good.” She murmured and Luke puffed his chest out a bit.

“Yeah. And thanks, I’m the best out of the guys at making coffee. It’s great, especially on the road. We kind of lived on caffeine.” He explained, chuckling.

“Tell me about your tour?” Julie asked, and before he knew it, Luke had launched into an excited retelling about the best few months of his life, all with his unknown neighbor girl leaning against his counter smiling softly.


	2. Chapter 2

When Luke exited the building, Alex and Reggie could see from his bouncing steps and odd grin that he’d had a good night. They’d only just returned from their tour the night before, but if they wanted to get this album recorded, they needed to finish rehearsing and writing the last few songs. Reggie sat in the driver’s seat of the old van, sharing a confused glance with Alex as Luke veered to his left. They scrambled out of the van, hurrying after him.

“Hey Julie, what’s wrong?” Luke’s heart jumped to his throat when he noticed the girl standing on the sidewalk beside an old car, phone pressed to her ear, and angry tears in her eyes. They’d stayed up until nearly 5am that morning, talking about Luke’s tour and Julie’s bad day. He had to be honest, he could listen to that woman bitch about her job all day long if it meant he got to listen to her talk.

“Sorry dad, hold on.” Julie said into the phone before turning to Luke. “The bad day saga continues.” She glanced at her car, lip curled into a snarl. “Car won’t start.” She sighed, shaking her head.

“We can give you a jump.” Reggie announced, glancing between his guitarist and the strange girl. “I’m Reggie, by the way. This is Alex.” He introduced after a second of the woman staring at him, eyes wrinkled in confusion. “We’re in a band with Luke. The Phantoms. Tell-”

“Your friends.” Julie finished for him with a small smile. Reggie’s face lit up and he beamed at her. “It’s not the battery. My dad thinks it’s the starter. Who knows?” She sighed, shaking her head. “Okay dad. Yeah, I’ll call him tomorrow. Yeah, it’s fine, I can uber to work or something. Thanks. Love you.” She spoke before hanging up the call and shoving her phone into her pocket.

“You look tired.” Luke reached out, like he was going to touch the bags under her eyes but thought twice and dropped his hand back to his side. Julie gave him a wry smile.

“Someone kept me up until 5am.” She replied, shaking her head. Luke’s eyes widened and he looked around as if searching for someone.

“Who?” He asked, indignant. “I’ll beat them up.” He stated solemnly. It did the trick, Julie let out a small chuckle and Luke’s stomach flipped.

“If you need, we can give you a ride to work.” Reggie offered, sharing a look with Alex.

“Oh, that’s okay.” Julie denied, waving her hands. “I’m sure you guys have stuff to do. I’ll grab an Uber.” Even though she knew she didn’t have enough in her bank account to pay for it and still have money to last her until her paycheck in a few days.

“Are you sure?” Alex asked, scuffling his shoe. “We don’t mind, really. And I’d hate for you to be late or something just because of your car.” He gave her a sweet smile and she felt her resolve breaking.

“Come on, Julie. It’s not that far out of the way, right?” Luke urged.

“Oh, sure. Thank you.” The girl finally relented, opening her door to pick up her purse from the passenger seat. After making sure that her car was locked, she followed the boys to the old van. “Nice ride.” She mumbled, wincing at the back door screeching obnoxiously when Luke opened it.

“We’ve had Patricia since high school.” Reggie announced proudly. Julie shared a look with Luke, mouthing ‘Patricia?’ with an eyebrow raised. Luke snorted and shrugged, shaking his head. “She’s reliable.” He explained as the van fired up, making a god-awful screeching sound before quieting down again.

“Uh huh.” Julie replied, disbelieving, as she took a seat on the bench seat in the back beside Luke. “There’s not even seat belts.” She looked around, eyes a bit wide.

“Yeah, you just gotta kinda…hold on.” Luke shrugged, reaching up to grapple at the handle over his head. “And you’re definitely gonna want to. Reggie’s not…the best driver.” He stage whispered.

“I can hear you.” Reggie snapped as he pulled away from the curb. Julie reached up, snagging the handle as he tore off down the street, van trundling over bumps that felt like potholes.

“You know it’s true.” Luke replied, chuckling.

“Where am I going, Julie?” Reggie asked, choosing to ignore his guitarist. Julie chuckled at the banter between them before she listed off the address of the bar. “Oh, shit! You work at The Spot?” He asked, eyes bright. “That’s where our first gig was.” He announced.

“Oh?” Julie asked curiously. “Luke never mentioned that.” She looked over and the guitarist blushed and glanced out the window.

“How did you meet Luke, anyway?” Alex interrupted before Reggie could continue blabbering.

“Oh, he was blasting music last night, and the walls in our apartment building aren’t exactly thick. I originally went over to yell at him, but we ended up chatting for most of the night.” Julie replied, shrugging.

“I wasn’t blasting it.” Luke muttered, pouting. “It was at a reasonable volume.” He assured.

“I guess if you’re deaf.” Julie nodded, smiling as Luke’s mouth dropped open in indignation.

“That’s pretty rude.” He muttered, even as Reggie and Alex chuckled amongst themselves in the front seat. “I can hear you laughing up there.” He called.

“It’s nice to hear someone who isn’t one of us put you in your place.” Alex replied, shrugging.

“Here we are!” Reggie announced, pulling up to the curb in front of The Spot, a dive bar in a not-so-great part of town. “Will you need a ride home, too?” Reggie turned around in the seat to look curiously at Julie.

“Oh, that’s okay. I’ll get a ride from one of my coworkers. It’ll be pretty late, we don’t get off until 2:30am.” She smiled, collecting her purse. “Thank you guys so much for the ride, and it was super great to meet you.”

“Hey, call me if you need anything!” Luke reached out, snatching her wrist before she could get out. “If you can’t find a ride home, give me a call, ok?” He asked, staring into her brown eyes earnestly.

“Ok, Luke.” She gave him a soft smile and his hands started to tingle. “Bye!” They watched her until she entered the bar from the alley entrance.

“So…Julie, huh?” Alex asked as Reggie pulled away from the curb. Luke felt his face flush bright red.

“Shut up.” He muttered.

“Hey man, I’m not saying anything. It just seems different than all the other girls you’ve brought around before.” Alex assured, putting his hands up in surrender. Luke could only nod in agreement. It really did feel different this time, and the thought scared him more than he cared to admit.


	3. Chapter 3

“What if we do something like this at that part?” Alex tapped out a quiet rhythm on his drum set, glancing at his bandmates.

“Yeah, then we can have Luke come in right after. It’ll give us a nice crescendo into the chorus.” Reggie replied, nodding quickly. “How does that sound, Luke?” He turned to see his bandmate sitting on the couch in their studio, the couch they’d taken from Bobby’s garage in a fit of anger. The guitarist was staring down at the floor, elbows on knees and hands scratching an invisible itch on the back of his head. “Luke.” Reggie spoke again, but the man didn’t look up.

“LUKE!” Alex tossed one of his drumsticks at the man. It bounced off of Luke’s shoulder and he finally looked up, eyes wide.

“Dude, what the fuck?” He asked, leaning over to pick up the stick and launch it back towards Alex, who dodged the projectile with a smirk.

“Are you here yet?” Reggie asked, shifting his weight anxiously as he stood, bass slung over his back. “You’ve been gone all day man, what’s going on with you? We got an album to write.” He reminded the guitarist.

“I know, I know.” Luke shook his head, abandoning the itch on his head and glancing at his phone.

“What’s going on with you?” Alex asked, standing up to make his way around his kit and taking a seat next to Luke.

“Do you think Julie’s ok?” Luke asked softly.

“What? I think she’s fine. She’s at work.” Alex replied, eyes wrinkled in confusion.

“Well, yeah. I know. It’s just…” Luke trailed off with a huff and Reggie and Alex glanced at each other, hiding knowing smiles. “We’ve been to The Spot man, and it’s not great. Not really a safe place for her to be working.” He frowned.

“Dude, you’ve known this girl for like a day. What’s this all about?” Alex asked, leaning back and lounging on the old couch.

“I dunno.” Luke shrugged helplessly. “She’s cool.” He muttered. Reggie hid a snort poorly with a cough.

“Cool, huh? Luke, king of eloquence.” Alex chuckled softly.

“I don’t even know what that word means.” Luke mumbled, knocking Alex’s shoulder with his own.

“It doesn’t matter.” Alex shook his head. “Look, let’s knock this song out, we’re almost done. Then we can go out for a drink afterwards.” He said.

“A drink?” Reggie asked curiously as Luke looked up, a smile hinting at his face.

“Yeah, we’ll go to The Spot and have some drinks. That way, we still get some work done today, Luke gets to make sure Julie is okay at a job she’s probably had for a while now,” He gave Luke a flat look, “And we get to wind down for the night. A win-win-win.” Alex explained.

“Ah! Alex, king of compromises!” Reggie cheered.

“Sure, let’s do that.” Luke agreed, standing. “Let’s get this done, then.”

***

The Spot was loud. It was always loud. The boys, plus Willie because he would never say no to a night out or an opportunity to get some light teasing in on Luke, made their way through the door, showing ID’s to the bouncer before they entered the bar. It was lit dimly, loud music pounding through the building, and lights flashed on the dance floor. Luke grabbed Alex’s arm as he spotted Julie standing behind the bar and they dodged through the rowdy crowd before landing at four conveniently open seats.

“Hey guys!” Julie called over the music. “Didn’t expect to see you here!” she chuckled, placing four cardboard coasters in front of them.

“Ah, Luke wanted a break.” Alex explained, nudging the guitarist. “Thought we’d come check the place out. It’s been a long time since we’ve been here. This is Willie, by the way.” He introduced his boyfriend, entangling their fingers on the bar. Julie glanced down at their hands and Alex waited, breath bated. It was always a crapshoot, figuring out how people were going to react. In LA, it was pretty normal, but that didn’t mean that everyone agreed with it or was okay with it.

“Hey! It’s super nice to meet you!” Julie stretched her hand across the bar towards Willie’s unoccupied hand. “I’m Julie, Luke’s neighbor.” She introduced.

“Ah! The girl next door!” Willie exclaimed, shaking her hand. “Nice to meet you too, Julie.” He watched as her dark skin flushed pale pink.

“What can I get for you guys?” She asked, leaning across the bar in order to hear them better.

“Can I get a Maker’s Manhattan on the rocks?” Luke called to her.

“Sure! How about you three?” She turned to the other three boys.

“Why not just make it easy and make that four of those.” Alex replied, shrugging. Julie beamed at him.

“Thanks, Alex. Making my job a lot easier.” She chuckled and walked away to make the drinks. 

“I didn’t know this was a fag bar.” A man coughed next to Luke, staring at Willie and Alex’s hands still entwined on the bar top.

“What did you just say?” Luke demanded, anger starting to bubble in his stomach as Alex’s shoulders slumped forward.

“Doesn’t matter.” The man waved Luke off, turning back towards the bar.

“Yes, it does. What did you just say about my friends?” Luke asked, leaning towards him.

“Stop terrorizing my customers, Billy. I thought we were clear when I told you that you weren’t welcome here again.” Julie cut in, moving to place her body between Luke and the other man, Billy. Billy gave her a leery smile.

“Aw, come on Jules. I thought we were just playing around. That’s what we do, right?” Luke felt disgust crawl in stomach, nausea curling around his intestines as the man leaned towards Julie.

“No. Get out.” At the same moment, leaning away from the man as he tried to get closer, she raised her hand. A few seconds later, the bouncer from the door appeared behind Billy.

“Come on, bud.” He hefted the man out of his seat, tugging him towards the door. Luke turned towards Alex as the door shut behind enraged yelling.

“Are you okay?” Reggie asked softly, eyed Alex and Willie.

“Of course.” Willie nodded, beaming.

“I’m really sorry about that, guys.” Julie shuffled towards them, a tentative smile on her face, hands clasped in front of her. “The drinks are on the house.” She hurried away before the boys could speak.

“It’s not like she could have done anything.” Alex murmured softly. Luke sighed, reaching over Reggie to squeeze his bandmate’s shoulder.

“People just suck sometimes.” Reggie said, and Alex mumbled in agreement.

“Here are your drinks.” Luke looked up, something in his stomach dropping when the bartender that slid them their drinks was a man.

“Where’d Julie go?” Reggie asked, taking a sip of his drink, and puckering his lips at the unexpected taste.

“She’s grabbing ice from the basement. Problem customers always rattle her a little bit. I’m Nick, I’ll be filling in for her until she gets back.” The man smiled, shaking blond hair out of blue eyes. “How do you guys know Julie?” He asked, leaning his hip against the bar.

“She’s my neighbor.” Luke replied, picking up his drink.

“Oh! You must be the ones that gave her a ride to work!” Nick perked, smiling. “Thanks for doing that.” He said.

“Uh, sure.” Luke replied, turning towards his bandmates. Nick hummed before turning away towards a man that was standing at the end of the bar flagging him down.

“Do you think Julie’s mad?” Alex asked, eyes wide at the thought.

“What?” Luke asked, caught off guard.

“Is that why she’s not up here. Do you think she’s mad that we came here?” He gestured between himself and Willie.

“No way, dude. Julie’s not like that at all.” Luke assured, shaking his head. “Alex, you’re allowed to be you wherever you want to be.” He declared.

“Thanks, Luke.” Alex gave him what he hoped was a smile and turned away, slumping in his seat.

“Do you want to leave?” Willie leaned over, resting a hand on Alex’s leg.

“No. I don’t know…” Alex sighed. “I don’t know what I wanna do.” He explained.

“Well, how about we finish this drink, and we’ll check in after.” Willie suggested with a soft smile, a light touch to Alex’s back that drew him taller in his seat.

“That sounds good.” Alex agreed, taking a sip of his drink and humming in appreciation. “Nice drink choice, Luke.” He complimented, raising his glass. “To our first tour!” He cheered.

“To our first tour!”


End file.
